Makemake: A Bright, Frozen World Beyond Neptune

Discovery and naming

Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz found Makemake in March 2005 at Palomar Observatory in California. The object carried the provisional designation 2005 FY9 until it was named. The discoverers used the nickname Easterbunny, according to the Planetary Society. NASA's APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) entry from July 2008 says the object had just been renamed Makemake, after the creator of humanity in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island. NASA's Makemake page calls the figure the Rapanui god of fertility. The name is pronounced "MAH-kay MAH-kay."

• 2005: Brown's team finds Makemake in March.
• 2008: the object is renamed Makemake and classified as a dwarf planet under the subcategory called plutoid, which means a dwarf planet beyond Neptune. NASA says it was the third plutoid cataloged, after Pluto and Eris.
• 2011: an occultation on April 23 gives a precise size and density.
• 2015: Hubble spots a moon in April, announced on April 26, 2016.
• 2024: Webb results on methane in the surfaces of Makemake and Eris, announced on February 15.
• 2025: Webb detects methane gas around Makemake, announced on September 9.

Makemake has been on the official list ever since, and where it fits among official and candidate worlds is covered in how many dwarf planets there are.

Size, orbit and surface

NASA lists a diameter of about 1,430 km (888 miles) and an average distance from the Sun of 45.8 AU, or 6.8 billion km (4.3 billion miles). An AU, or astronomical unit, is the average distance from Earth to the Sun, about 150 million km (93 million miles). One trip around the Sun takes 305 Earth years, and one rotation takes about 22.5 hours. Its orbit is only slightly farther out than Pluto's and is more tilted to the plane of the planets, according to the APOD entry.

The 2011 size and density come from a stellar occultation, the same technique that later revealed a ring around Haumea. On April 23, 2011, Makemake passed in front of a faint star and blocked its light for 59 seconds, and seven telescopes across Brazil and Chile recorded the event. The result, published in Nature in November 2012, showed an oblate (slightly flattened) shape with axes of 1,430 and 1,502 km. NASA says scientists have detected frozen methane and ethane on the surface, and that methane pellets up to 1 cm (half an inch) across may lie there.

MK 2, a very dark moon

In April 2015, astronomers using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 spotted a tiny moon, and the discovery was announced on April 26, 2016. It is known as S/2015 (136472) 1, nicknamed MK 2. The Space Telescope Science Institute says it is about 100 miles (160 km) across and about 13,000 miles (21,000 km) from Makemake. If its orbit is circular, preliminary estimates put one lap at 12 days or longer.

The most striking fact is the contrast. MK 2 is more than 1,300 times fainter than Makemake, and it is described as charcoal-black, while Makemake is about as bright as fresh snow. Tracking the moon's orbit will let astronomers weigh the system and, in turn, work out Makemake's density and bulk composition, which would show whether it resembles Pluto's. The 2016 release said those answers would need further study of the moon.

What telescopes have learned

The 2011 occultation also put a limit on Makemake's air. The star disappeared and reappeared very abruptly, which means Makemake has no global, Pluto-like atmosphere at a level above about one-thousandth of Pluto's. A thin, local atmosphere covering part of the surface was not ruled out.

Webb has added two results. In February 2024, a team co-led by the Southwest Research Institute reported that the methane on Makemake and Eris differs from the methane found on comets. The ratio of two forms of hydrogen suggests the methane formed inside the bodies, and a carbon measurement suggests the surfaces were renewed relatively recently. The authors describe this as evidence of hydrothermal or metamorphic activity, which means heat-driven chemistry in the interior, and use hedged language such as "perhaps."

In September 2025, a team led by Silvia Protopapa announced the first detection of gas on Makemake. Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph found methane gas that re-emits sunlight it absorbs, which makes Makemake only the second object beyond Neptune with confirmed gas, after Pluto. The source of the gas is open. It could be a thin atmosphere in balance with surface ice, as on Pluto, or short bursts of activity like those on comets, perhaps plumes releasing a few hundred kilograms of methane per second. The authors say both explanations fit the current data, partly because of noise and limited spectral resolution, and higher-resolution Webb observations are needed. The paper was described as headed for The Astrophysical Journal Letters, so check the journal for the final version.

Telescopes both on the ground and in space find and follow bodies like this one, and the tools are described in the telescopes that find and study small bodies. Anyone who takes up observing should remember one rule first: never point binoculars or a telescope at the Sun without a proper solar filter made for that purpose.

Common mistakes and myths

• Myth: Makemake is named for the Easter Bunny. Easterbunny was only the team's nickname, chosen because of the discovery date. The official name comes from Rapa Nui mythology.
• Myth: Makemake has an atmosphere like Pluto's. The 2011 occultation found no global atmosphere. The 2025 Webb result found methane gas, but its source is still unclear.
• Myth: Webb proved Makemake has volcanoes or plumes. Plumes are one of two explanations that the authors say fit the data. A thin atmosphere is the other.
• Myth: Makemake has no moon. It has one, MK 2, found in 2015.
• Myth: a spacecraft has explored Makemake. The results come from telescopes. The definition of a dwarf planet does not require a visit.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say Makemake?

NASA's APOD entry gives the pronunciation as "MAH-kay MAH-kay."

How long is a year on Makemake?

About 305 Earth years, according to NASA. A day lasts about 22.5 hours.

Does Makemake have a moon?

Yes, one. It is called MK 2, it is about 100 miles (160 km) across, and it is far darker than Makemake.

What is Makemake made of?

NASA says scientists have detected frozen methane and ethane on its surface. The 2011 occultation gave a density of about 1.7 g/cm³, which describes the whole body.